Thursday, February 27, 2014

Sky's End by Lesley Young - Guest Post and Giveaway


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions for her science fiction romance, Sky's End.

Lesley will be awarding print copies of “Sky’s End” to ten randomly drawn winners, and a grand prize of one $50 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner during the tour via the rafflecopter at the end of this post. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

She's sharing some info on aliens!

Three things you should know about alien heroes

Confession: I was not a huge sci-fi romance reader when I sat down to write my first fiction novel Sky’s End: Book One in the Cassiel Winters Series. I wrote it because I wanted to experience the journey of a young woman to kick-ass heroine. Then I created Prime Or’ic, a Thell’eon warrior who will stop at nothing to save the universe, gladly risking his heart, since he doesn’t think he has one. And I quickly realized how special alien heroes could be. Needless to say, I am now constantly gobbling up sci-fi romance. I can’t get enough. So if ye doubt, here are a few reasons to give it a try.

*Alien heroes present a truly new male archetype. With a hero from another planet, everything is (or should be) nonhuman. The hero’s appearance, his behaviors, his values, his approach to seduction, what turns him on, how he responds to human behaviors. . .the possibilities are endless and thus, at least to me, endlessly entertaining.

*Alien heroes could be real. No really. I mean, if other life forms exist, why not? They are certainly more likely than vampires, werewolves, lycan and fae. Just sayin’. Plus, I, for one, put a lot of effort into developing alien species, cultures and worlds that were likely, you know, based on scientific fictionalization of course.

*Alien heroes offer up a fresh take on love (re: screw the happy ending as we know it). When every human or earthly convention is turned on its head (as is the case with an alien hero), no way will a relationship grow, no way will an understanding, a compassion and passion for each other develop in a traditional way. Alien love begs the question of the author, what is human love and would other species love differently? Could they even love each other for real?

If you’ve never tried a novel set in space, Sky’s End is the one to ease you in. Its fast-paced plot, balanced world-building and wonderful engaging heroine on her way to kiss-ass-dom will grip you! Plus, the alien hero is hawt!

A secret she must never share. A secret that two warring species are determined to control. A universe’s future at stake.

Twenty-year-old Cassiel Winters joins Earth’s new space academy in hopes of finding her brother, one of Command’s top pilots and her only family, who’s been reported MIA. But she quickly realizes she may not be cut out for life in space, where female cadets are outnumbered, competition’s fierce, and she’s already failed her hand-to-hand combat test once.

When Cassiel’s manipulated into a perilous mission, she encounters a warrior species bred to protect the universe from an even greater threat. And she learns that her secret visions are at the heart of it all. Now Cassiel must fight to control her own destiny and race to save her brother—even if it means pretending to be the pawn of Prime Or’ic, the cold-as-steel Thell’eon leader. Even if it means risking her life, facing hard truths, and making the ultimate sacrifice.


Now enjoy an excerpt:

The sea of black and silver guns and uniforms open up to let through a Thell’eon wearing a long dark gray cloak made of what looks like microscopic chain-mail over a thin gray shirt that contours another chiseled chest and stomach. Honestly, they’re commonplace here.

But . . . our eyes meet, and I swear I have never seen a more handsome or fierce or handsomely fierce man in my life. I forget to conceal my facial expression. He’s the definition of man and . . . and . . . sex. Literally, that is his appeal. Its pull is soft and warm and persuasive. I find myself admiring his intelligent eyes, so dark they seem black. Tattoos or markings, or whatever those things are, accent his strong brow, contour his cheekbones, and one on his chin creates a goatee effect. I can tell by his facial stubble that he would have dark brown hair. I notice he’s breathing a little heavy, like he had run to catch up with the others. Given how fit he is, he must have come some distance.

He eyes me carefully, first with disbelief and then disgust. He claps his hands together suddenly, and laughs, meanly, causing me to jump a little. The spell is only partly broken.

“So this is what ESE sends?” His voice is deep and melodic. “A female . . . child,” he adds, eyeing my face.


Journalist Lesley Young never thought she would delve into the world of writing fiction, but when she sat down for the first time to put pen to paper, ideas for what would become her first novel just poured out naturally. Young’s first book, “Sky’s End,” is a multi-genre tale that showcases her unique style of weaving romance, action and wit into one page-burning story.

Young was born in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. She holds an arts degree from the University of Alberta and a journalism degree from the University of Victoria.

Young now lives in Loretto, Ontario where she works as a journalist, freelance writer and editor for health, décor and business magazines. Since 2008, Young has written more than 300 articles for print and online media including Profit, Toronto Life, MSN Green, and Elle Canada among others. She is a regular contributor to Reader’s Digest, Best Health, Canadian Living and House and Home Magazine.

Young has won three gold honors for feature stories from the National Business Magazine Awards and another top media award from the Canadian Dermatology Association.

Soul Mate Publishing released “Sky’s End” on July 15 in paperback and e-book and since its launch, it has remained an Amazon Best Seller. The novel is Young’s first installment in a series about Cassiel Winters, a futuristic heroine, and her outer space escapades.

LesleyYoungBooks.com

Facebook.com/CassielWintersSeries

Twitter: @LesleyYoungBks

Amazon Buy Link
http://www.amazon.com/Skys-Cassiel-Winters-Lesley-Young-ebook/dp/B00DXV8G9K/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1385512973&sr=8-1&keywords=%22sky%27s+end%22

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3 comments:

So... inquiring minds want to know: what do you think?